One of the suspects in the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal was on Tuesday afternoon excused from court proceedings to enable her seek medical treatment.
Ms Ann Wanjiku Ngirita fell sick in court and Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti allowed her mother Lucy Wambui Ngirita to take her to hospital. Magistrate Ogoti ordered the two suspects to appear in court on Wednesday.
On Monday, Mr Ogoti directed the police to investigate medical documents filed by Ms Ngirita (Ann) after she sought for an adjournment of the trial.
Mr Ogoti declined to adjourn the case to allow Ms Ngirita to seek treatment. Instead, he ordered the Director of Criminal Investigations to determine the authenticity of the medical documents and file a report in court in three days.
Ms Ngirita, whose company Annwaw is accused of receiving millions of shillings for goods not delivered, pleaded with the court to adjourn the case, saying, she was unwell.
Through lawyer Migos Ogamba, she said she has a stomach and spinal cord problem, which would not allow her to sit for long hours.
The lawyer said she only came to court with the intention of seeking the adjournment because the pain was unbearable.
To support her claim, she tabled medical reports from two clinics she attended in Naivasha and Kinangop.
Mr Ogamba said one of the reports had referred her to Mater Hospital for further examination. Other lawyers supported her application, saying, her medical condition should be treated seriously.
The prosecution disputed the documents, saying, some were not signed and don’t indicate which doctor made the referral.
Mr Ogoti agreed with the prosecution, saying, some documents were not supporting the claims she was making and declined to adjourn the matter.
According to the magistrate, the move was one of the many applications made by the defence to scuttle the trial.
The accused persons in the current case include former Public Service and Youth Affairs Principal Secretary Lilian Omollo, former NYS Director General Richard Ndubai and 28 others.
Other Ngirita family members are Phylis Njeri and Jerimiah Gichini, who are alleged to have fraudulently received Sh226.9 million from the NYS.